Universities should accept equal numbers of male and female students in every subject. To what extent do you agree or disagree? In my opinion, men and women should have the same educational opportunities. However, I do not agree
with the idea of accepting equal proportions of each gender in every university subject.
Having the same number of men and women on all degree courses is simply unrealistic. Student numbers
on any course depend on the applications that the institution receives. If a university decided to fill
courses with equal numbers of males and females, it would need enough applicants of each gender. In
reality, many courses are more popular with one gender than the other, and it would not be practical to
aim for equal proportions. For example, nursing courses tend to attract more female applicants, and it
would be difficult to fill these courses if fifty per cent of the places needed to go to males.
Apart from the practical concerns expressed above, I also believe that it would be unfair to base
admission to university courses on gender. Universities should continue to select the best candidates for
each course according to their qualifications. In this way, both men and women have the same
opportunities, and applicants know that they will be successful if they work hard to achieve good grades
at school. If a female student is the best candidate for a place on a course, it is surely wrong to reject her
in favour of a male student with lower grades or fewer qualifications.
In conclusion, the selection of university students should be based on merit, and it would be both
impractical and unfair to change to a selection procedure based on gender.
(265 words, band 9)
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